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Kahunaville was a tropical themed restaurant chain founded in 1996 by David Tuttleman in Wilmington, Delaware and owned by Adventure Dining Inc. In the late 1990s, the chain became established in shopping malls throughout the United States and by 2002, it employed 3,000 employees, had an annual revenue of $48 million, the and expanded internationally to South Korea. In November 2006, the original Kahunaville was closed suddenly by Tuttleman following the death of his father and two years later, its locations in South Korea shuttered. The final Kahunaville location in Las Vegas was closed in 2016. Since its closing, reunion events have been organized and held by Tuttleman to commemorate the history of Kahunaville.
In 1997, Kahunaville opened its second location in Langhorne Borough, Pennsylvania at the Oxford Valley Mall. The Oxford Valley project happened after a failed initiative in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to build a large restaurant and entertainment facility on City Island. Two more locations opened at the Eastwood Mall in Niles, Ohio and the Destiny USA in Syracuse, New York in 1998.NOW ENTERING KAHUNAVILLE, A PLACE TO EAT AND BE DAZZLED: FINAL Niedt, Bob. Syracuse Herald American Syracuse, October 11, 1998: E1. An additional three locations were opened in 1999 at Holyoke Mall in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Walden Galleria in Buffalo, New York and RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, Michigan. The Walden Galleria location in Buffalo had an estimated investment cost of $5 million, .
In August 2001, Kahunaville opened at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and a month later, a location opened at the International Plaza and Bay Street in Tampa, Florida on September 14, 2001 with little traffic at the mall following the recent September 11 attacks. A location was opened in February 2002 at Jersey Gardens Mall in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Other locations were at the Kalahari Resorts in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. A Kahunaville location was planned to open in 2002 with the new Festival Bay Mall in Orlando, Florida, though this did not occur.
Kahunaville expanded internationally in 2002, opening a location in Seoul, South Korea at the Savoy Hotel in September and a second location later that year. A third location in Seoul opened in 2003.
The Korea Times said that the restaurant was the eighth most popular family restaurant chain in South Korea, competing with Bennigan's, Hooters, Outback Steakhouse, Sizzler, TGI Fridays and Tony Roma's. In 2008, Kahunaville ceased operations in South Korea.
In 2013, the location in Wisconsin Dells closed. The last Kahunaville at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas closed in 2016, hosting one last party for Super Bowl 50.
In 2016, The Post-Standard listed Kahunaville in the article "Syracuse restaurants we wish we had back". The restaurant was listed in "The Saddest Restaurant Closings in Las Vegas in 2016" article by Eater. In the 2018 MassLive article "Massachusetts restaurants we miss", Kahunaville was "remembered for cheesy atmosphere and birthday songs." New Jersey radio station WPST listed Kahunaville in its "10 Local Restaurants We Miss The Most" article in 2019. Grand Rapids radio station WLHT-FM had Kahunaville present on its list of restaurants locals wanted to see return.
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